Date: 2013-10-25
Type of information: R&D agreement
Compound: DNX-04042
Company: CleveXel Pharma (France) Dynamix Pharmaceuticals (Israel)
Therapeutic area: Autoimmune diseases – Inflammatory diseases - Rheumatic diseases
Type agreement: R&D
development
Action mechanism: SYK and JAK3 are intracellular tyrosine kinases involved in cytokine and antibody receptor signaling. JAK3, which is a member of the JAK family, is frequently activated during the course of inflammatory autoimmune diseases. However, unlike JAK1 which is ubiquitously expressed and JAK2 which is prominent in erythrocytes, JAK3 is predominantly expressed in immune cells (B- and T-cells) making it a promising target for treating autoimmune diseases and hematological malignancies. SYK is a key kinase in B-cell signaling. DNX-04042 is a potent, oral, small-molecule inhibitor of both SYK and JAK3 with significant selectivity within the JAK-family and across the kinome. Specifically, DNX-04042 exhibits more than 1,500 fold selectivity in cells for JAK3 over JAK2 inhibition. DNX-04042 has a promising pharmacological profile and has demonstrated excellent safety in a preclinical MTD study. DNX-04042 has also demonstrated a very strong anti-cancer effect in a mouse xenograft study of B-cell lymphoma.
Disease: rheumatoid arthritis
Details: * On November 25, 2013, Clevexel Pharma, a pharmaceutical company specialized in investing in the development of new molecules between proof-of-concept in animal and proof-of-concept in humans has announced a partnering agreement with Dynamix Pharmaceuticals, a venture-backed Israeli biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel, targeted, small-molecule drugs for cancer and autoimmune disorders.
The partnership will cover the development of a dual mechanism SYK/JAK molecule in rheumatoid arthritis. The orally active SYK/JAK product has a new action and is Dynamix’ lead development program. The joint aim of the collaboration between CleveXel and Dynamix is to bring the rheumatoid arthritis project to a clinical proof of concept stage. Preclinical development is planned for early 2014. The first in human clinical trial is expected to start in 2015. This new agreement will strengthen CleveXel’s product portfolio both in financial and non-monetary asset investments. This is the fourth molecule in CleveXel’s portfolio since the beginning of 2013.
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